No name is more synonymous with greatness in the sport of golf than Jack Nicklaus, and no single person has changed the face of the sport more than he the player, the designer and the goodwill ambassador.
Nicklaus, has been named "Golfer of the Century" or "Golfer of the Millennium" by almost every major golf publication in the world. He was also named Individual Male Athlete of the Century by Sports Illustrated and one of the 10 Greatest Athletes of the Century by ESPN.
In November 2005, as Nicklaus punctuated a year in which he played his final British Open, perhaps his final Masters Tournament and led the United States to a thrilling victory in The Presidents Cup, the Golden Bear was honored by U.S. President Bush at the White House with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to any American civilian. A few weeks later, he was unanimously named by GolfWorld Magazine as its Newsmaker of the Year 2005.
Early in 2001, Nicklaus was honored with the first-ever ESPY Lifetime Achievement Award and he became the first golfer and only the third athlete to receive the Vince Lombardi Award of Excellence. In 2003, he was honored with the Muhammad Ali Sports Legend Award.
Nicklaus's competitive career has spanned five decades and his legend has been built with 105 professional tournament victories worldwide and a record 20 major championship titles. He is the only player in history to have won each of the game's majors at least twice (six Masters, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens, three British Opens and two U.S. Amateurs) and he is the only player to have completed the career "Grand Slam" on both the regular and senior tours.
Nicklaus is a five-time winner of the PGA Player of the Year Award, has been the PGA Tour's leading money-winner eight times and its runner-up six times. He has played on six Ryder Cup teams, captained two other Ryder Cup teams and served as U.S. captain for the 1998, 2003 and 2005 Presidents Cup teams.
In recent years, Nicklaus has campaigned hard for the return of golf to the Olympics and in 2008 was named a Global Ambassador for International Golf Federation's Olympic Golf Committee along with Annika Sorenstam. In 2009 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to return Golf to the Olympic program for the 2016 and 2020 games, a victory Nicklaus hopes will make the game even more global.
Nicklaus and his wife Barbara have a long history of charitable work, from junior golf to children's hospitals, including the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, which supports a number of pediatric health-care services, to several scholarship foundations.
Residing in North Palm Beach, Florida, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus are parents to five children and grandparents to 19.
Jack Nicklaus, Golf Legend, is available through IMG Speakers Bureau for speaking engagements. Jack Nicklaus is also available for corporate hospitality events, meet and greets, golf outings, and much more. Please contact IMG Speakers at 212-774-6735 or speakers@imgworld.com for more information on booking Jack Nicklaus.
